Basic Information

The July 2011 PTP user meeting user-call recording includes a live demonstration of how to setup and configure a synchronized project. (Note: convert to full-screen viewing via the green square in the lower right corner of the screen to be able to read the contents of the demo screens.)

Known Issues

The "Build directory" in ('Project' -> 'Properties' -> 'C/C++ Build') does not show the correct build location for remote configurations. Builds should still run in the proper location, though, if set correctly in ('Project' -> 'Properties' -> 'C/C++ Build' -> 'Synchronize').

There is no wizard to convert existing remote projects to synchronized projects. (See FAQ item below for a solution)

Deleting synchronized projects often fails on NFS (network file system). See bug 360170. To delete the project, close Eclipse, restart, and then delete.

There are some potential pitfalls when configuring projects

On the first page of the new project wizard, users should not select a file system other than the default. This directory must be local. Users specify a remote location on the last page of the wizard bug 356208.

Users should avoid changing configurations inside the new project wizard, as this will cause errors. Instead, add and change configurations after project creation.

The Workspace configuration only appears after the project is created.

The tool chain selected during creation is used for both the local machine and remote machine. Users need to adjust this after project creation.

For remote configurations, only the "Sync Builder" works, although other options are available ('Project' -> 'Properties' -> 'C/C++ Build' -> 'Tool Chain Editor'). The "Sync Builder" is set as the default.

Attempting to change multiple configurations does not work correctly.

FAQ

When should I create a Remote Project and when should I create a Synchronized Project?

Remote projects exist only on a single remote site. So they are a better choice if you need a simple, quick way to work remotely. Synchronized projects add the capability to use multiple remote sites and synchronize between them. The underlying Git tool makes sync'ing very efficient, leading to less network lag time, especially for large projects. Also, synchronized projects exist and can be built both locally and remotely. Even if you are not interested in compiling locally, this can be handy if the connection is unavailable or slow. For example, you can work on the project locally and then, once the connection becomes available, sync your changes to the remote site.

Other benefits of Sync'd projects include

Local editing offers improvements over editing remote file (some features are disabled in the C/C++ remote editor) (Example: greying out of inactive code works in local editor)

You can have multiple remote configurations and switch between building on different remote systems.

The Fortran indexer can run on a local project but not a remote project

A remote project doesn't need to bring the source files to the local client until you request a file for editing or other operation.
A synchronized project brings all the files to the local client upon initial sync then only needs to sync changes later, so editing of already-synced files is faster.

A synchronized project will need more networking initially to do the initial sync, but subsequent requests such as to fetch a file for editing are not needed
since the file exists locally.

RDT remote projects requires Java on the remote host. Synchronized projects do not require Java on the remote target.

How do I setup a synchronized project that works with a CVS repository?

Be sure to select "Check out as a project configured using the New Project Wizard" on the "Check Out As" screen

After the CVS wizard ends, the "New Project Wizard" begins.

Create an empty Synchronized project

Files in the CVS repository are automatically imported on project creation

Alternatively...

Check out a project from CVS into a local project as usual (Check out as C or Fortran project if it isn't already)

File > New > Other... and under Remote, select "Convert C/C++ or Fortran Project to a Synchronized Project" then select the project and setup (or reuse) a remote connection. Be sure to specify a directory on the remote system for 'Location' where the files will be sync'd to.

How do I setup synchronization for an existing C/C++ or Fortran project, including ones that use CVS, Git, SVN, etc.?

The conversion wizard, described in the User Guide, should work for all of these cases. Synchronization works independently of the user's version control system.

How do I know if a current project is a synchronized project?

Go to the properties page ('Project' -> 'Properties' -> 'C/C++ Build') and see if the 'Synchronize' page is available.

I get a Merge conflict for a file that changed both locally and remotely. How do I recover from this?

Shut down eclipse.

Synchronize projects "by hand". This means a couple of "rm -rf" or "scp -r" or "make clean" commands on both hosts, as appropriate. The error message about merge conflicts may direct you to the files that need treatment. -- Or you might remove the whole remote project directory, provided the correct version of the files in question are on the local copy.

Remove .ptp-sync on >both< hosts.

Restart eclipse. The latter is necessary to initiate rebuilding .ptp-sync and redo synchronization.

.ptp-sync is outgrowing rapidly all other directories. Is there any way to reset .ptp-sync ?

Proceed as described in recovering from a merge conflict above. Removing and rebuilding .ptp-sync reduces the size. However, this does not fix the root cause for the rapid growth. The current version of eclipse PTP also synchronizes the executables. In a future version the user will be able to select which files are being replicated.

How do I convert an existing C/C++ or Fortran project to be a synchronized project?